Ramona Fradon

(b. 2 October 1926, USA)

Aquaman Leaves the Sea (Adventure Comics #172)

Ramona Fradon is the grand lady of DC comic books. Just graduated from the Parsons School Of Design in 1950, she got a job at DC Comics. Among her first tasks was drawing 'Aquaman'. She kept drawing the character throughout the decade, adding many new characters.

Metamorpho #2

In the early 1960s, she took a break from comic books to raise her daughter, with the exception of the creation of the superhero character ' Metamorpho, the Element Man' with Bob Haney in 1965. When Ramona Fradon returned to comics full-time in the 1970s, she worked on DC titles such as 'Superman', 'Batman', 'Plastic Man', 'Freedom Fighters' and 'Super Friends'.

Brenda Starr

She left DC in 1980 to take over Dale Messick's newspaper strip 'Brenda Starr, Reporter' for the Chicago Tribune Syndicate. Working Messick as the scriptwriter during the first two years of her tenure, Fradon later worked from scripts by Linda Sutter and eventually Mary Schmich. After Ramona Fradon retired in 1995, 'Brenda Starr' was taken over by June Brigman.

Mermaidman and Barnacleboy

Ramona Fradon came out of retirement on several occasions. She drew a 'Sonic the Hedgehog' issue for Archie Comics in 1999. In 2004, she drew the feature 'Mermaidman and Barnacleboy' for Nickelodeon Magazine. The feature was a spin-off of the popular cartoon series 'Spongebob Squarepants' and a parody on 'Aquaman'. It also appeared in the 'SpongeBob' comic book by Bongo Comics. She contributed pencils to the 2010 graphic novel 'The Adventures of Unemployed Man' by Erich Origen and Gan Golan and the collection 'The Art of Ramona Fradon'. She wrote and drew her children's book 'The Dinosaur That Got Tired of Being Extinct' in 2012.